Cabinet front assembly

ABSTRACT

A frame assembly having a plurality of rectangular, wooden and substantially coplanar frame units, each unit having stiles and rails secured together at their adjacent ends. A pair of elongated alignment and connecting elements extend lengthwise of the assembly, the upper element being secured to the upper rails and the lower element being secured to the lower rails, both by a tongue and groove connection. The lower alignment element is arranged to support a shelf and the upper element may be arranged to provide additional support for a counter or attachment to a bulkhead.

United States Patent mi Camper et a1.

CABINET FRONT ASSEMBLY Inventors: Sydney D. Camper, Rte. 6, Box 82;

Worth N. Yoder, 1528 Dogwood Drive, both of Elkhart, Ind. 46514 Filed: Mar. 15, 1971 Appl. No.: 123,975

US. Cl 312/257 SK, 312/111, 108/111,

108/153, 211/148 Int. Cl. A47b 43/00, A47b 47/00 Field of Search 312/257, 257 SK,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,612,634 10/1970 Moore 312/257 SK 3,063,768 11/1962 Moore 312/111 2,437,665 3/1940 Rose 312/108 3,150,903 9/1964 Chapman et al 312/257 SK 3,329,473 2/1967 Dickson 312/111 3,550,981 12/1970 Cohen 312/111 [451 July 3, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 200,243 2/1955 Australia 312/257 SK 1,199,970 12/1959 France ..3l2/ll1 Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Attorney-Wo0dhams, Blanchard and Flynn 5 ABSTRACT A frame assembly having a plurality of rectangular, wooden and substantially coplanar frame units, each unit having stiles and rails secured together at their adjacent ends. A pair of elongated alignment and connecting elements extend lengthwise of the assembly, the upper element being secured to the upper rails and the lower element being secured to the lower rails, both by a tongue and groove connection. The lower alignment element is arranged to support a shelf and the upper element may be arranged to provide additional support for a counter or attachment to a bulkhead.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures CABINET FRONT ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to cabinets or cupboards, such as those used in a kitchen either below or above the counter and, more particularly to a modular frame unit capable of prefabrication, easy assembly and compact shipping in multiples to form a cabinet front frame assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The manufacture and use of prefabricated cabinets or component parts thereof, including the provision of modular units, is well known and established. In recent years, such cabinets and their components have been used extensively in the manufacture of mobile homes, travel trailers and the like, where large numbers or identical or similar assemblies are installed by production line procedures. Because of this fact, it is extremely important that each cabinet assembly or component thereof be identical with every other one for the same purpose, that they are strong, pleasing in appearance, easy to ship, and easy to install.

Among the components which are used in prefabricated knock-down cabinet assemblies, the front frame is probably the most important because it constitutes the major source of strength and rigidity for the entire assembly and because all other components in the cupboard assembly are critically dependent upon the front frame for accuracy of their location and satisfactory operation after the cabinet assembly is completed. For example, all drawers, doors, shelves, mouldings and the like are fabricated to fit the dimensions of the cabinet front frame. Thus, if such frame assembly is not properly or accurately constructed or assembled, none of the associated parts will fit therewith.

A known, knock-down front frame assembly uses doweled connections between adjacent frame units, which constitutes an improvement over the substantially hand-made assemblies furnished before its development. While front frame assemblies using dowels to possess the necessary three-dimensional alignment, nevertheless they do not possess the desired strength. In studying the foregoing, it was believed that the structure and fabrication of front frame assemblies could be further substantially simplified and improved. It was discovered that the need for dowels between adjacent frame units could be eliminated by furnishing elongated alignment and connection elements which would be secured to the upper and lower rails of the frame units during the assembly thereof. At the same time, the lower alignment element could be used to support the lower shelf which, in turn, would be supported upon base members including the recessed, front kickplate.

Thus, this arrangement of interconnecting and rigidifying the plural frame units would provide the necessary three-dimensional alignment while eliminating the need for interconnecting dowels and screws, and would also furnish automatically a support for the front edge of the lower shelf and thus provide the cabinet front with the desired strength.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provision of a front frame assembly for either base-type or wall-type cabinets comprised of a plurality of substantially rectangular frame units which are interconnected by a pair of elongated alignment and connecting elements which are secured by a tongue and groove connection to, and extend lengthwise along, the upper and lower rails of said frame units.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cabinet front frame assembly, as aforesaid, wherein the lower alignment element is connected to the lower rails of theframe units so that the upper surface of the alignment element is spaced downwardly from the upper edges of the lower rails a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the portion of the lower shelf supported thereon.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cabinet front frame assembly, as aforesaid, in which the upper alignment element furnishes additional support either for a counter top or for means to secure the front frame assembly to a soffit.

Still a further object of this invention is the provision of a front frame assembly, as aforesaid, which has substantially identical opposite edge structures so that either horizontal edge may be used as either the top or bottom, and either vertical edge may be either the left or right side, thereby greatly facilitating on the job assembly.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become apparent to persons familiar with cabinet structures of the type disclosed herein upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a base cabinet assembly and a wall cabinet assembly including front frame assemblies embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, rear perspective view of a front frame assembly for a cabinet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged broken sectional view taken along the line IIl--III in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged broken sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary and exploded perspective view of a modified front frame assembly.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 1 and showing a modified construction.

For convenience in description, the terms upper", lower, left, right", front" and rear will have reference to the cabinet assemblies and parts thereof disclosed in this application as appearing in FIG. 1 which illustrates the front sides of the cabinet assemblies. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric centers of said cabinet assemblies, the cabinet front frame assemblies and parts thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects and purposes of the invention have been met by providing a cabinet front frame assembly adapted for use with either base cabinets or wall cabinets and comprised of a plurality of substantially rect angular, frame units fabricated from wooden stiles and rails which are rigidly secured to each other at their adjacent ends. Plural frame units are held in adjacent and substantially coplanar positions and in proper vertical alignment by means of tongue and groove connections between the upper and lower rails of said frame units and a pair of upper and lower alignment and connecting elements. The tongue and groove connections are formed and effected after the plural frame units have been completed so that relative alignment and connection is accurate and firm. The alignment andconnecting elements serve the dual purposes of supporting shelves and providing attachment points for countertops and ceilings and supporting structures such as soffits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The arrangement of cabinets disclosed in FIG. 1 includes a base cabinet assembly and a wall cabinet assembly 11 which may be designed for typical kitchen use in 2 conventional home or a mobile home. The base cabinet assembly 10 is supported upon the floor 12 adjacent a back wall 13 and the wall cabinet assembly 11 is mounted upon said wall 11 and connected to a soffit or bulkhead 14 which in turn is connected to the ceiling 16. It is well known that the specific details of support for the wall cabinet assembly, in particular, and the base cabinet assembly in general may and do vary substantially depending upon the particular installation. Accordingly, such details as may be given hereinafter with respect to the mounting and support of the complete base and wall cabinet assemblies will be considered as illustrative and not as limiting to the features of the cabinet front frame assemblies which characterize the invention.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the front frame assembly 17 of the base cabinet assembly 10 (FIGS. 1 and 3) is comprised of a plurality of similar frame units 18, 19 and 20 (FIG. 2) which are rectangular in shape and fabricated from wood. The frame units 18 and 19 are preferably, but not necessarily, identical and the frame unit 20 differs from the frame units 18 and 19 by having a pair of intermediate rails 23 and 24 to support drawers.

The frame unit 18, for example, (FIGS. 1 and 2) has a pair of stiles 26 and 27 and upper and lower rails 28 and 29, respectively, as appearing in FIG. 2. The upper rail 28 extends between the upper-ends of the stiles 26 and 27 and is rigidly secured thereto by a tongue and groove connection, which may be augmented with an adhesive and/or other fastening means. The lower rail 29 is secured to and between the lower ends of the stiles 26 and 27 in a manner similar to the rail 28.

The frame unit 19, being identical with the frame unit 18, has stiles 26A and 27A and rails 28A and 29A which are secured together as in frame unit 18. The rails 28B and 29B of the frame unit 20 may be and preferably are identical with the corresponding rails of the other two frame units. However, the stiles 32 and 33 of the frame unit 20 differ slightly from the stiles of the other two frame units in order to accommodate and support the intermediate rails 23 and 24.

The rear sides of the rails 28, 28A and 28B are provided with lengthwise grooves 34, 34A and 348 which are parallel with and equidistant from the corresponding upper edges of their respective rails. An elongated alignment and connecting element 36, which may be fabricated from wood and is preferably substantially L-shaped in cross section, has a lengthwise extending and sidewardly projecting tongue 37 which can simultaneously and snugly extend into the grooves 34, 34A and 348 (FIG. 2) for the purpose of positively aligning and rigidly interconnecting the rails 28, 28A and 28B, hence, the frame units 18, 19 and 20. An adhesive may be placed within said grooves 34, 34A and 34B before the tongue 37 is inserted therein in order to prevent subsequent, accidental disengagement of the element 36 from the three rails, or the element 36 may be secured to the three rails by conventional connecting staples. In this embodiment, and as appearing in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the element 36 is flush with the upper edge of the upper rails, such as the upper rail 28, so that it can furnish additional support for, and be secured to, the counter top 38, that is, the counter top 38 can be anchored upon the front frame assembly 10 (FIG. 3) by means of screws 39 which extend upwardly through the element 36. Alternately, the flush upper surfaces of element 36 and rails 28 can be used for enabling the front frame to be anchored to and hung from a ceiling when used in a wall or ceiling cabinet assembly.

The lower rails 29, 29A and 29B are provided with lengthwise grooves 42, 42A and 428, respectively, (FIG. 2) which are parallel with and equidistant from the lower edges of their respective rails. A lower alignment and connecting element 43 is preferably fabricated from wood and has a lengthwise extending and sidewardly projecting tongue 44 which is snugly and simultaneously received into said grooves 42, 42A and 42B. A suitable adhesive is preferably placed in said grooves to rigidly interconnect and align said rails 29, 29A and 29B, hence, their respective frame units 18, 19 and 20. The spacing between the groove 42 in the lower rail 29 and the upper edge thereof (FIG. 3) is preferably such that the front end of the lower shelf 46 can be supported upon the element 43 adjacent to and flush with the upper edge of said lower rail 29. The shelf 46 may be secured to the lower element 43 by means including staples or an adhesive and screws 47 for reasons of added strength, if so desired. Shelves, not shown, may be mounted upon the element 43 behind the rails 29A and 29B in the manner discussed with respect to shelf 46.

The front side of the base cabinet assembly 10 (FIG. 3) may be supported upon a recessed kickplate 48 which may be secured to the shelf 46 by screws 49 and which extends between the lower shelf 46 and the floor 12.

The remaining structure of the base cabinet assembly 10, including the end wall 51 (FIG. l) the doors 52 and 53 and the drawers 54, may be and preferably is substantially conventional. It will be noted that the doors 52 and 53 are of left-hand and right-hand operation, respectively, and that no change whatsoever is required in the front frame assembly 17 for the purpose of accommodating this difference in the hinge positions of these doors.

The wall cabinet assembly 11 (FIG. 1) includes a front frame assembly 57 which, in substance, is constructed like the front frame assembly 17. That is, said assembly 57 is comprised of a plurality of frame units 58, S9 and 60 which, in this embodiment, are identical since they are all adapted to accommodate identical doors 63. The frame unit 58, for example, has a pair of stiles 64 and 65 and upper and lower rails 67 and 68, respectively, which are interconnected at their adjacent ends by a suitable joint, such as a tongue and groove, which may be augmented with pins, nails and- /or adhesive. The frame units 59 and 60 are preferably constructed and assembled in the same manner as described above with respect to the frame unit 57.

The rear sides of the rails 67 and 68 (FIG. 4) are pro vided with parallel grooves 69 and 70, respectively, which extend lengthwise thereof. Elongated alignment elements 73 and 74 have tongues 76 and 77, respectively, which extend lengthwise thereof and project sidewardly therefrom for snug reception into the grooves 69 and 70, respectively. A suitable adhesive or staples may be used to augment the securement of the tongues within such grooves. Grooves similar to those shown at 69 and 70 in the rails 67 and 68 are provided in the corresponding rails of the frame units 59 and 60, as described above with respect to the frame assembly 17. Accordingly, the alignment elements 73 and 74 will be of sufficient length to be received into the grooves of the rails on all three of the frame units 58, 59 and 60. Thus, a rigid frame assembly 57 is provided by means of the interconnecting alignment elements 73 and 74.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lower alignment element 74 may be spaced downwardly from the upper edges of the lower rails to which it is secured so that a shelf 78 can be supported upon said lower alignment element 74 flush with the upper edge of the adjacent lower rail or rails. Means, such as staples or an adhesive and/or the screws 81, may be used to secure the shelf 78 upon the element 74. The upper alignment element 73 may be connected to the lower wall 82 of the bulkhead 14 (or directly to the ceiling) by screws 83 or other convenient means.

In a modified embodiment of the invention, (FIG. 6) the front frame assembly 91 may be comprised of a plurality of frame units 92, 93 and 94, for example, at least two of which are of different vertical heights. For example, the frame unit 92 may be approximately twothirds of the height of the frame unit 93 which is of the same height of the frame unit 94. The upper rails 97, 97A and 97B of the frame units 92, 93 and 94 may be secured, as described above with respect to the front frame assembly 17 (FIG. 2), to an upper alignment element 96 by a tongue and groove connection.

The lower rail 98 of the frame unit 92, while being substantially above the lower rails 98A and 98B of the frame units 93 and 94, may nevertheless be constructed in the same manner as rails 98A and 98B. On the other hand, a different type of securement may optionally be used. Specifically, a groove 99 may be provided in the adjacent stile 102A of the frame unit 93 so that said groove 99 is in lengthwise alignment with the groove 103 in the lower rail 98 of the frame unit 92. An alignment element 104 is provided with a tongue 106 which extends lengthwise of the element 104 and projects sidewardly therefrom into the grooves 99 and 103. A suitable adhesive or staples may be used to rigidly hold the tongue 106 within said grooves and thereby rigidly secure the lower end of the frame unit 92 with respect to the stile 102A of the frame unit 93. The remainder of the assembly and construction of the front frame assembly 91 may be substantially identical with the front frame assembly 17 or the front frame assembly 57.

FIG. 6 also illustrates a further desirable feature of the present invention wherein the upper and lower rails 98A and 98B and their association with the upper and lower alignment elements are substantially identical except for being mirror images of one another. This thus enables either horizontal edge to be used as either the top or the bottom.

ASSEMBLY AND OPERATION The assembly and operation of the structure disclosed above will be apparent to persons skilled in this field following an examination of such disclosure. How ever, for the purpose of convenience, such assembly will be summarized briefly hereinafter.

The individual frame units 18, 19 and 20, for example can be fabricated individually on an assembly line from elements which may be substantially identical, either in part or in whole, and can be mass-produced. That is, where the front frame assembly is comprised of a plurality of frame units of the same height, but of different widths, and where all of the frame units are adapted for cabinet doors, the stiles may be and preferably are identical but the rails of the various frame units may differ in length. This type of modular construction minimizes the problem of inventory and greatly facilitates the use of high-speed mass production procedures.

Where a quantity of front frame assemblies are to be comprised of plural frame units of the same height, such frame units can be moved successively through a grooving station where the upper and lower grooves are simultaneously furnished. Then, with the grooved sides of the frame units facing upwardly, the alignment and connecting elements are secured to groups of the frame units by the tongue and groove connections which may be augmented with an adhesive. Under normal circumstances, frame assemblies having similar frame units of the same height will be automatically produced, one after the other in a mass production procedure. Alternatively, the frame units may be built and then stocked as frame units ready for interconnection by means of alignment and connecting elements in multiples, as desired. The alignment and connecting elements may also be stocked in quantities in increments of length corresponding to the modular sizes of the frame units.

Because of the simplicity in assembling plural frame units to form a front frame assembly, such assembly can be accomplished either at their point of manufacture or at a subsequent assembly plant associated with, or on the premises of, a final assembly operation, such as a facility for the manufacture of mobile homes.

FIG. 7 illustrates a modified lower rail 12S and lower alignment element I26 (FIG. 7) whereby a plurality of frame units 127 can be interconnected. Specifically, the rail is provided with a lengthwise extending and sidewardly projecting tongue 128 which extends snugly into a cooperating groove 129 in the alignment element 126.

It will be noted that the groove 42 (FIG. 2) in the rail 29, for example, also extends through the adjacent parts of the stiles 26 and 27. On the other hand, when the rail is provided with a tongue, such as tongue 128 in FIG. 7, rather than a groove, no corresponding projections will be provided on the adjacent stiles in order to minimize cost. The lower shelf 132 (FIG. 7) may be supported on the upper surface of the alignment element 126 in substantially the same manner as discussed above with respect to the other embodiments of the invention- In the present invention, each frame unit preferably has the outer stiles notched or otherwise prepared for the installation on the job of a pro-finished side panel.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A prefabricated front frame assembly for a plurality of cabinet modules, comprising:

a plurality of prefabricated rectangular wooden frame units disposed in laterally adjacent side-byside relationship, each unit being associated with a single cabinet module and having a pair of substantially parallel vertical stiles and a pair of substantially parallel horizontal rails fixedly connected at their adjacent ends, said rails and stiles defining opening means therebetween;

substantially straight, continuous and elongated upper alignment element secured to and extending along one side of each of the upper rails of said plurality of frame units and means including a tongueand-groove connection between said upper element and said upper rails for securing said upper element to said plurality of units; and a substantially straight, continuous and elongated lower alignment element extending lengthwise of and secured to the lower rails of said plurality of frame units on the same sides thereof as said upper element, and means including a tongue-and-groove connection between said lower element and said lower rails for securing said lower element to said plurality of units, the upper edge of said lower element being spaced downwardly from the upper edges of said lower rails.

2. A front frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are in said upper and lower rails and the tongues are on said alignment elements.

3. A structure according to claim 2, wherein the stiles of adjacent frame units are in abutting relationship and an adhesive is applied to all connections.

4. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the upper and lower alignment elements each have a substantially L-shaped cross-section, one of the legs of the L-shaped elements constituting the tongues.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the combined upper rail and upper alignment element are substantially identical to, but a mirror image of, the combined lower rail and lower alignment element, whereby either horizontal edge of the front frame assembly can be disposed uppermost when assembled to a cabinet structure. 

1. A prefabricated front frame assembly for a plurality of cabinet modules, comprising: a plurality of prefabricated rectangular wooden frame units disposed in laterally adjacent side-by-side relationship, each unit being associated with a single cabinet module and having a pair of substantially parallel vertical stiles and a pair of substantially parallel horizontal rails fixedly connected at their adjacent ends, said rails and stiles defining opening means therebetween; a substantially straight, continuous and elongated upper alignment element secured to and extending along one side of each of the upper rails of said plurality of frame units and means including a tongue-and-groove connection between said upper element and said upper rails for securing said upper element to said plurality of units; and a substantially straight, continuous and elongated lower alignment element extending lengthwise of and secured to the lower rails of said plurality of frame units on the same sides thereof as said upper element, and means including a tongueand-groove connection between said lower element and said lower rails for securing said lower element to said plurality of units, the upper edge of said lower element being spaced downwardly from the upper edges of said lower rails.
 2. A front frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are in said upper and lower rails and the tongues are on said alignment elements.
 3. A structure according to claim 2, wherein the stiles of adjacent frame units are in abutting relationship and an adhesive is applied to all connections.
 4. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the upper and lower alignment elements each have a substantially L-shaped cross-section, one of the legs of the L-shaped elements constituting the tongues.
 5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the combined upper rail and upper alignment element are substantially identical to, but a mirror image of, the combined lower rail and lower alignment element, whereby either horizontal edge of the front frame assembly can be disposed uppermost when assembled to a cabinet structure. 